ill-equipped
Americanadjective
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badly or inadequately equipped.
an ill-equipped army.
-
ill-prepared.
a student ill-equipped to begin calculus.
Etymology
Origin of ill-equipped
First recorded in 1955–60
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Most of his teachers were ill-equipped to handle his behavioral problems, later diagnosed as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 1, 2026
If you do end up with an ill-equipped manager, there are likely lessons to be learned from that experience, too, as you move to find a better fit elsewhere.
From MarketWatch • Dec. 30, 2025
We were approached by two hikers who were — teeth clattering incessantly and clothes soaked — ill-equipped for the evening.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 23, 2025
They also said the areas of the south where displaced residents were expected to move were "overcrowded and ill-equipped to sustain human survival at scale".
From BBC • Aug. 20, 2025
Greek philosophers were unable to untie that bundle; therefore, they were ill-equipped to solve Zeno’s puzzle.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
